Armed Heroes Return Fire, Drive Off Idaho Gunman

In-N-Out Burger restaurant exterior with red and yellow design — Photo: Michael Gordon / Shutterstock

Surveillance video from the Twin Falls In-N-Out shooting shows armed civilians and an off-duty trooper firing back as the gunman kept moving, and police say that response likely saved lives.

Story Snapshot

Police released surveillance video showing the gunman’s path through the restaurant and parking lot.
Authorities say an off-duty state trooper and an armed civilian returned fire during the attack.
Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said their actions helped drive the suspect away and prevent more casualties.
Other reports note the scene was chaotic, with officers also dealing with false reports of more shooters.

Video Shows Chaos Before the Gunfire Spreads

Twin Falls police released surveillance footage that begins with the gunman arriving at the drive-thru window and shooting the first victim, employee Ashley Garibay. Police said the video later shows the suspect firing through the payment window, then going back to his car for a rifle. The footage also shows frightened employees diving for cover and shielding one another as the attack unfolded.

The footage matters because it shows how fast the violence spread from the drive-thru into the parking lot. According to police, the gunman later returned with a rifle and kept firing at customers. That sequence helps explain why witnesses and officers described the scene as chaotic, with people running, hiding, and trying to get out before the attack reached more victims.

Police Credit Return Fire With Saving Lives

Police said an off-duty state trooper and a civilian, later identified in reports as Jordan Salinas, both fired at the suspect. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said, “We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties.” That is the clearest public statement tying the return fire to the end of the attack.

Several reports repeat that same police view and describe the armed civilian as a hero who went toward the danger. The public record also says the suspect, Chad Williams, later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On the facts released so far, police are not saying the armed intervention solved every part of the crisis, only that it likely stopped the gunman from killing more people.

What the Public Still Does Not Know

The strongest open question is not whether someone returned fire. The question is how much that return fire changed the outcome. Some accounts use careful language and say the video “appears” to show an exchange of gunfire, which is still different from a full forensic finding about cause and effect. That gap matters in a case this fast and violent.

🇺🇸
USA

Newly released bodycam and surveillance footage shows the moment a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 1.

The video captures employees scrambling for cover as the shooter methodically targeted victims. Three people were killed and…

— ZeroAngle (@TheZeroAngle) August 8, 2026

ABC7 reported that police spent about 90 minutes sorting out the scene because they were also responding to reports of possible shooters elsewhere. That detail shows how hard it can be to build a clean timeline in the middle of panic. It also helps explain why public praise for heroes often arrives before the full record does. Even so, the available reporting still supports the core fact that armed intervention happened while the attack was underway.